Cool Coals (Pty) Ltd, which operates within a community with a high unemployment rate, made three times the usual profit at the end of 2020. The board of directors of Cool Coals (Pty) Ltd is considering whether the company should issue university bursaries to learners from the community who have completed grade 12 in 2020. Some of the directors are opposed to this idea. They claim that the company should be managed exclusively in the interests of the shareholders with the result that:

(a) the interests of other stakeholders such as the community and its grade 12 learners cannot be taken into account; and

(b) all the profits of the company must be distributed to the shareholders of Cool Coals (Pty) Ltd. As the company secretary, the board of the company approaches you for advice.

With reference to the principle of Ubuntu as expressed by Madala J in the case of S v Makwanyane 1995 (6) BCLR 665 (CC) and the facts in the scenario above, advise the board of Cool Coals (Pty) Ltd on whether the payment of university bursaries may be justified on the basis of the principle of Ubuntu, or whether the profits of the company should be distributed exclusively to its shareholders. (10 Marks)